Gideon's Promise (Sons of Judgment Book 2) (47 page)

Liam’s grip on Valkyrie’s arm loosened, but he remained a rigid force blocking her. “Liam Maxwell,” he said evenly. “If you are here for an application—”

Reginald’s thin mouth curved. “I do not require an application.”

It was impossible to tell, but he seemed to survey the place through his milky eyes. His head tipped ever so slightly to one side as though listening. Then he straightened and Liam had his attention once more.

“Your sons are on their way.”

Sure enough, a moment later, Octavian, Gideon and Magnus were crowding the kitchen doors behind Reggie. Gideon’s silver eyes went first to Valkyrie before darting swiftly to Reginald.

Reginald smiled. “Wonderful. Now, if your wife could join us—”

“You have no business with my wife,” Liam said with equal calm, but there was a warning in his eyes only a fool would ignore.

Reginald’s cool façade never faltered. He regarded Liam with quiet interest. “I fear I do. You see...” He strolled deeper into the room, his cane swinging like a dark pendulum at his side. “This very much concerns her.”

“I will be the judge of that.” Liam closed the distance between himself and the man. “State your business.”

Reginald turned those unsettling orbs towards the kitchen and the four fanning out throughout the room. He seemed unperturbed about being surrounded.

“There is no need for alarm,” he said. “I do not wish any of you harm. In fact,” he withdrew a chair and folded his slender frame into it. “I am here to assist you. Please.” He motioned for Liam to take the seat across from him.

Liam accepted, but he twisted his chair away from the table, a move warriors were taught when sitting with the enemy; there was nothing hindering him from leaping to his feet at a second’s notice.

Reginald, if he noticed, made no comment. He sat with his legs folded beneath the table, his hands clasped neatly on top. His cane leaned casually against the side of his chair. He was a man confident in whatever he was there to tell them.

“You wouldn’t happen to have tea, would you?” he asked casually. “Traveling between realms always leaves me a bit parched.”

“V
alkyrie will get it.” Gideon had appeared at Valkyrie’s side without her even noticing until he’d spoken.

“I will not!” she retorted sharply.

Gideon’s gaze narrowed on her face. “Yes, you will.”

Reginald chuckled. “Your mate is safe with me, Caster. I will not harm either of them.”

“Either?” Liam jumped in before Valkyrie, or Gideon could inquire.

Reginald revealed serrated fangs in a broad smile. “I do not fancy infants, and no one in this room is a virgin. As I said, you are all safe.”

Raised in a culture where virginity was veered as something to be cherished and guarded, Valkyrie had a particularly sore spot for demons who relished on devouring virgins in any form. But it was the first thing he’d said that momentarily distracted her.

Infants.

That was the second time she’d been told she was carrying, by two different people. Valkyrie didn’t believe in coincidences, nor was she ignorant to what was right in front of her face.

“What is it you want, Reginald?” Liam prompted when the man ceased speaking.

“At this moment, that would be tea,” Reginald stated evenly. “Perhaps some brandy.” He clicked long, yellow nails on the table, one finger at a time. “And your wife’s presence.”

Liam never so much as batted an eyelash at the last statement. “The tea and brandy I can do. Reggie, could you—”

“Could you get the other one to do it?” Reginald interrupted with just a hint of sheepishness that raised even Valkyrie’s brow. “I understand I cannot physically harm anyone here, but you would make me very happy if your guest prepared the drinks.”

“Guest?” Liam questioned.

“Yes, the banshee.” Reginald chuckled and lights sparked off the fine points of his teeth. “I have a soft spot for ... pure things, even if I am forbidden to taste.”

Pinch lines formed around Liam’s mouth. “My son will prepare the drinks. No one else outside this room concerns you.”

Some of the humor slipped from Reginald’s angular features and he regarded Liam with the look one would give a rebellious child.

“You are wasting time, Liam,” Reginald said calmly. “We will have company soon and every minute is precious.”

“Then maybe you should quit beating around the bush and tell us what you’re doing here,” Magnus interjected. “You came to us. We don’t need to cater to you.”

Reginald blinked. His lashes were dark spikes against the pallor of his complexion.

“Cater? All I requested was tea. Have times changed so much that a guest is not even offered such a small courtesy?”

“You are not a guest,” Magnus bit out.

Liam held up his hand, silencing his son. “My son will get your tea while you and I talk.”

Reginald sighed. “Very well.” He turned his head in Reggie’s direction. “Make it quick, if you please. As I said, time is of the essence.”

Reggie left. The kitchen doors clacked shut behind him. They heard the faucet running through the takeout window and the clang of pots. But all eyes remained riveted on Reginald. He seemed to enjoy that. He also, for someone claiming time was of the essence, said nothing until the silver tray was brought into the room and the tea was poured. He cradled his cup gingerly between his hands and brought the dark brew to his nose. He inhaled deeply, lashes fluttering as he did so.

“There is something so calming about tea, don’t you think so?”

Liam said nothing.

Reginald set his cup down. His long fingers remained curled around the ceramic. He raised his pupil-less eyes to Liam.

“Your family has certainly caused quite a stir in the underworld, Keeper,” he remarked with just a hint of amusement. “You and your sons are practically celebrities. There are a few of us who feel as though we know just about everything there is to know about the keepers of the north.”

“Did you come for an autograph?” Liam asked. While the question was mocking, his tone was polite.

Reginald beamed. “No, not at this time. I came to warn you and to perhaps offer you my services.”

“And what services are those?”

Triple jointed fingers came undone from around the mug and were splayed to show a square palm. “I have many, but my most sought after one is my ability to find things.”

“What kind of things?” Octavian wondered.

Reginald cocked his head in Octavian’s direction. “All manner of things. There is very little I can’t find.”

“And why would we require your services to find something?” Liam asked.

“Because I can find what, or in this case, who you have been searching for,” Reginald replied slowly, dragging each word out so there was no mistaking them. “I can bring to you the people responsible for the trouble you have been facing.”

Liam’s eyes narrowed. “You know the identity of the killers?”

Reginald leered broadly. “Oh, I know more than that.”

“And what would you want in return for this information?” Valkyrie cut in.

Reginald lowered his gaze to his tea. He seemed to be watching the ripples across the dark surface, his features pensive.

“Sadly, I will not be around long enough to enjoy anything I request.” His head came up and he fixed Valkyrie with a hooded smile. “Consider this an early wedding present.”

Valkyrie reflexively glowered.

Reginald seemed unfazed. “Fate is such a fickle thing, isn’t it, Harvester? It comes upon us before we can blink and changes everything. Rarely do we appreciate the new turn we are given. I certainly don’t, but you...” He reached into the lapel of his blazer with one spidery hand.

Valkyrie was grabbed around the wrist and jerked behind Gideon before she could even think to draw in a breath. His blade was out and aimed at the other man. The beast standing by the doors, keeping them open growled in its chest.

Reginald put up his free hand. “It is all right, Zane.” His pale eyes never left Gideon. “It is not time yet.” To Gideon, he said, “I am on your side.”

“That is debatable,” Gideon ground out through clenched teeth.

Nonplussed, Reginald withdrew the item from his inside pocket and held it out on the palm of his hand.

It was a vial no bigger than Valkyrie’s thumb and filled with a clear, blue liquid that seemed to be emanating a faint, white glow. Everyone stared at it, waiting for it to do something. It didn’t.

“What is that?” Gideon demanded.

“This,” Reginald plucked the bottle up by the stopper and gingerly set it down on the table, “is the thing that will ultimately save your mate, Caster. Not today, but not too far into the future. You will know when.”

“Save me from what?” Valkyrie asked, eyeing the thing cautiously. “Why are you giving this to me?”

“Because, little Harvester, I have an interest in your future and it is in my best interest to make sure you succeed.”

“What are you talking about?” Gideon growled. “Enough riddles! Tell us why you’re here or—”

Reginald tensed. His eyes widened.

“We are out of time.”

No sooner had the words left his colorless mouth when a low whistle filled the room. The familiar whoosh of air being shot through propelled Valkyrie to grab the back of Gideon’s shirt and yank him to the ground as her scream of warning replaced the sickening crunch of bones shattering. Valkyrie hit the ground with Gideon falling over her on his side, too stunned to brace himself. The wind was knocked out of her, but not even that was enough to make her grip on his shirt loosen. She clutched him to her tightly, protecting him from harm.

He came to his senses first. He scrambled onto all fours above her. His hand was tense pushing back tendrils of hair to anxiously search her face.

“Are you all right?”

Nodding, Valkyrie ran her own hands over all the parts of him she could reach. “Are you?”

With a nod and a harsh kiss to her forehead, he heaved himself up onto his knees. His head swung around the room, searching for signs of danger. When none were evident, he pulled her up with him. His hands were warm and firm closing around hers. She chided herself for noticing, but it didn’t stave off the flow of electricity that seemed to pour through the connection, sending tingles up her arm.

“Dad?” Gideon scrambled to his feet, hauling Valkyrie up with him as he turned to face his father.

The others were doing the same. But unlike his sons who had hit the floor the moment Valkyrie had cried out, Liam hadn’t moved. He sat with his face drawn and pale, staring at the slumped figure across from him.

Reginald had tipped his tea over. Dark liquid spilled across the polished surface of the table to mix with the spackle of black that had sprayed from his mouth when the arrow had pierced through the back of his neck. It jutted like a needle through his jugular. Reginald’s eyes were open, staring unseeingly at the mess he’d made. Tea pooled beneath his cheek and trickled over the tabletop to stain his suit.

Magnus was already out the door with Reggie on his heels. Octavian had dove through the kitchen doors and was, if Valkyrie’s assumptions were correct, off to check on his wife and mother. Gideon kept Valkyrie close to his side, his body a strong barricade between her and whatever threat was outside the doors. His grip on her hand was almost painful.

“Dad?” Gideon reached for the other man.

“I’m fine.” Liam reached into the lapel of his jacket and removed a handkerchief. He wiped at the speckles of blood marring his face. “Check on your mother.”

“Octavian’s already gone.” Gideon looked to the open doorway and the hulking beast still standing there like an ugly, black statue. “Get to the back of the house.” He turned to Valkyrie. “Whoever did this could preparing for another attack.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She bent down and gathered her fallen blades. “I’m going to find the bastard and show him what happens to idiots who shoot at me.”

She made it as far as the steps before he had her around the middle. She was twisted away from the opening with a single swing. His arms were iron bands around her middle, clasping her back into his chest as he held her tight.

“What are you doing?” she snarled at him.

“Keeping safe what’s mine!” He hissed into her ear. “Don’t push me on this, Kyrie. You might not care what happens to you, or our baby—”

“Possible baby!” she snapped back. “It’s only been a few hours. There’s no possible way it happened that fast.”

His arms tightened. “If there’s even a chance...” His lips brushed her ear and the warmth of his breath sent a shiver through her. “I have every right to protect you, even if that means cuffing you to my bed until we’re certain.”

There was no deflecting the hot current that rippled through her at the guttural promise burning the side of her face. Her heart gave a wild kick and she wondered if he could hear it.

“I ... I’m not a weak damsel!” she gasped out. “I don’t need saving.”

“Then keep our baby safe.”

“Possible—”

“And if you are?” he growled. “Will you really risk his life for your stubbornness?”

He had her. She wouldn’t. Not ever.

When she ceased fighting him, he relaxed his hold. His lips brushed a kiss to her ear.

“Thank you.”

“The arrow has been poisoned.”

Releasing her, Gideon marched to the doors and slammed them shut before moving to stand at his father’s shoulder to peer down at bloodstained tip of the arrow protruding from Reginald’s Adam’s apple.

The point was a smooth, hand polished onyx that gleamed in the light. The shaft was a flexible wood Valkyrie didn’t recognize. Nothing about the weapon was remarkable, or familiar.

“This is not one of my sister’s,” she stated. “Serinda uses animal bone and she wouldn’t miss.”

Lowering his head, Liam sniffed the area around the wound. He drew back a moment later, his expression puzzled.

“What?” Gideon asked.

Liam shook his head. “Something about the smell...”

The front doors blew open for the second time that night. Gideon’s hand instinctively closed around Valkyrie’s elbow and relaxed a second later when his brothers stomped in and shut the doors behind them.